


Barton Hollow

by oftheashtree



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Character Death, Clint Barton Needs a Hug, Clint Feels, Clint Has Issues, Clint Needs a Hug, Death of a Spouse, Depression, M/M, Poor Clint, Stucky - Freeform, The Author Regrets Everything, The Author Regrets Nothing, brief mention of other Avengers - Freeform, clint centric, not graphic, phlint - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-27
Updated: 2015-02-27
Packaged: 2018-03-15 11:38:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3445745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oftheashtree/pseuds/oftheashtree
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clint Barton is dead; he just doesn't know it yet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Barton Hollow

**Author's Note:**

> TW: death of a spouse, death that could be perceived as suicide, depression. 
> 
> As I wrote this, I was listening to "Barton Hollow" by The Civil Wars - hence the title. I was inspired by the first line; it goes "I'm a dead man walking here". I'm sort of fascinated by the relationship that our fandom has created between Phil and Clint, and I enjoy exploring the possible ways that Clint might respond to the death of his spouse (Phil and Clint have always been and will always be married in my mind). I'm really mean to Clint, sorry, not sorry.
> 
> I'd hope this would be obvious, but maybe not: I don't own The Avengers, Marvel, any of the characters, or the song I mentioned above. There are a lot of things I don't own.

Clint Barton is dead; he just doesn't know it yet. 

He sleeps fitfully next to his husband, brain filled with images of the men he's killed and tortured. His eyelids flicker and his fingers clench and release, but otherwise he doesn't move a muscle and he doesn't make a sound. His husband has stolen the covers and burrowed deep within them, and Clint is left with nothing to cover him but a pair of sleep pants. He sleeps flat on his back, alert even as he slumbers. It doesn't look very comfortable. 

Sure enough, when he wakes he doesn't look like he's just slept a good nine hours; in fact, he looks like he hasn't slept in weeks. 

He eats breakfast quickly and efficiently, gives his husband a brief kiss, and walks out the door. It's not a good day. 

The pattern continues. 

He barely sleeps, eats only when he has to, and fights alongside the Avengers.

Clint Barton is dead; his body just doesn't know it yet. 

He sees blue everywhere.

He closes his eyes and his world turns blue. He starts to hate the sky for the hue it takes on on a nice day. He starts to hate everything. 

Steve finds Bucky, and Clint hates them for their happiness. 

Tony marries Pepper, and Clint hates them, too. 

Clint is a dead man walking. 

His eyes, dim from the moment the Battle of New York began, fade completely. People notice; the Avengers notice. Clint doesn't care. 

He lays in bed and pretends he's still sleeping next to his husband. He pushes the covers to Phil's side of the bed and pretends that they're there because Phil stole them. He eats breakfast quickly and efficiently and daydreams about kissing his husband goodbye one last time. 

He hasn't been the same since the Battle. He hasn't been the same since Phil didn't come home, and he has a distant feeling like he'll never be the same again. 

Phil is dead. Clint is dead, too. His body just doesn't know it yet. 

He tells his body one day. He hears Cap's shouts from the midst of the battlefield. It's a doozy: blood on nearly everyone, at least seven civilians dead, and they're running out of options. Clint feels his heart sing, and his eyes come alive because  _this is it_. He tells his body that he's dead while executing a perfect - and nigh impossible - tumble from a six story building. He dodges and ducks and weaves through the throng, nocking an arrow and explaining to his body that it's almost time. He draws and fires and he's got to be close enough - he has to be so close to make this shot. He maybe has time to get away before the creature explodes - maybe has time to get far enough that he doesn't die, at least, but he can't find the will.

Clint Barton is dead; his body just didn't know it. 

As the arrow embeds itself in the hide of the creature, a massive explosion rips it - and everything in a four yard radius - to shreds, including Clint Barton. 

Clint Barton is dead, and his body finally knows it. He's dead, and he's happy because  _finally_ he can see Phil. Finally he can sleep next to his husband again and let him steal the covers. Finally he can kiss him again. 

The only problem is this: 

Phil Coulson is dead; his body just doesn't know it yet. 


End file.
